More Than 253 Corrections Employees Arrested Since 2013

The head of Maryland's corrections department says more than 253 department employees have been arrested since January 2013, and more than 200 of them are still employed.

Stephen Moyer told state officials Wednesday the department lacks administrative measures needed to prevent people with some "pretty outrageous" charges from working in the department, which has about 11,000 employees.

Moyer urged the Board of Public Works to eliminate 63 human resources jobs in the department and reorganize the division to make it more centralized.

The board ended up deferring the request to study ways to accommodate employees slated to lose their jobs who do not face charges.

Gov. Larry Hogan, a board member, says reforms are needed due to the rampant corruption at the now-closed Baltimore City Detention Center.

"Due to a previous hiring debacle bad actors have been allowed to slip through the process. That is what we are trying to fix," Hogan told the Board of Public Works.

Those remarks sparked criticism from some workers who attended the meeting, as well as leaders of their union AFSCME.

Teresa Custer, who is a 23 year state employee who as worked for the Department for the last two yeas, became tearful when she described the reaction of her colleagues when they first heard about the job cuts.

"They probably thought that it was some of these correctional officers, or maybe the employees who were getting stuff in the prison. I don't think that they thought it was people like me," Custer told the Board.

"To hold these employees responsible for the corruption in the Department of Public Safety is beyond the pale," AFSCME lobbyist Sue Esty told the Board.

Department of Public Safety and Corrections spokesman Mark Vernarelli told me that of the 63 positions to be eliminated, 59 are filled. He says 27 of those workers would be hired back in a newly restructured department. Vernarelli adds that at least nine would be eligible for early retirement, the rest of those workers would be laid off.